Page 115 of Holiday Hostilities

“So, Aaron.” Sadie stands and gives him a slick smirk of a smile. “How do you think tonight’s game went?”

“I think our guys played great. We worked well as a team, got a lot of good shots on net, but the outcome of the game was unfortunately not what we hoped for.” Aaron looks calm, poised and confident. The look of a man in total control, the look of acaptain.

It’s a very good look, indeed.

But Sadie’s expression turns sickly sweet. She beams around the room before looking back at Aaron. “So you’d say you madethe correct call on who to pass to for what could have been the winning shot?”

Aaron’s eyes flicker for a moment, but he sets his jaw. Clears his throat. “Yes. Perez was in an ideal spot to score, and I made a calculated decision to pass to him.”

“Teamwork, right?” Sadie’s looking even more shark-like, her eyes gleaming.

Aaron frowns, like he’s trying to figure out her angle. “Right.”

“Would you say the Cyclones are tight as a team?”

“Absolutely.”

“So your involvement with Jake Griswold’s sisterisn’tcausing a rift between you two on the ice? Splitting up the Cyclones’ former ‘dream team’?”

Coach Torres opens his mouth to answer, but Aaron gets there first.

“No.” His eyes are stone cold.

“But it will cause problems once it ends, right?” Sadie almost taunts. “Risky for team morale to have a fling with your teammate’s sister. Something a good captain should consider.”

“Enough!”

Aaron bangs his fist on the table, making the twitchy journalist in front of me jump in his seat.

A hush falls over the room as Aaron continues in a calm, commanding tone. “Olivia Griswold isnota fling. And I don’t give a damn what you all have to say about whether I’m fit to be captain of this team, because the fact is, Iamthe captain at this moment. A captain my coach and teammates elected. And while I don’t care what you have to say aboutme, I’mhere to set the record straight about Olivia so you vultures can’t spin any more ludicrous stories and drag her name through the mud, too.”

Sadie snorts, her professional facade cracking. “Says the guy who has endless flings with endless redheads. What the hell makes this one different?”

“She’s not just another redhead.” Aaron’s voice doesn’t waver as he looks around the room. Finally, his gaze lands on me and his lips slide into a genuine smile. “I love her. I’m hopelessly, completely in love with her. I think I might have always loved her.”

I sit there, in my rickety chair at the back of the media room, stunned.

Because Aaron Marino loves me.

This incredible man lovesme.

My heart feels buoyant. About to burst with happiness.

“I love you, too!” I yell like a fool, jumping to my feet. “I love you too, Aaron!”

And though I know that everyone is looking right at me, I don’t care. Because Aaron’s eyes light up at the sight of me on my feet and causing a scene for him, and his is the only opinion that matters.

Cameras start clicking, people start talking, and Sadie Lincoln’s face falls as her plan to humiliate us backfires. Lieberman, standing off to the side of the room, looks surprisingly calm and composed, and I swear I see a twinkle in Coach Torres’s eye as Aaron gets to his feet, hops over the press table, and jumps off the stage in one swift motion.

He muscles his way through the crowd until he reaches me.

“It’s true.” I smile up at him. “I love you. I’minlove with you.”

“I love you isn’t enough, Olivia.” His arms circle around me. “The way I feel about you is all-consuming—it’s everything.You’reeverything. I’ve been in love with you forever, and I’ll continue to love you forever, and then after forever ends.”

“I’m not just another redhead?” I tease, grinning up at him. “I’d hate to think that I was just your type.”

He shakes his head with a smile. “The only reason I was drawn to women with red hair in the first place was because ofyou. I never forgot you.” He pauses, then lowers his voice to an intimate level meant only for my ears. “Want to know the actual reason I didn’t date anyone for months?”

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